Recap of June Meeting (June 28, 2007)Show and tell! Wow, Julie had a ball at the “bargain room” at Richeson’s and agreed to do some personal shopping for us. Karen showed us the beginnings of a tunic coat she designed in a Rachel Clark class as well as her Marilyn Belford class piece (her three daughters), which will become her 2007 challenge piece. Karen also let us know that Corel Draw offers a free 30-day trial, including the “poster-ize” function that helped her with the fabric portraits. Michele showed her piece from a Lakeside Quilters’ Guild challenge; it won viewers choice! She also showed some fabric she’d dyed with her son using Procion and shaving cream. It gives a marbled effect; find directions at
http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/1498922-AA.shtml. Katy and JoAnne showed their fabric from the DNQG Shelly Stokes class, and then it was time for the Paintstik Party! A nifty-thrifty note from Michele: plumber’s gasket seems to work just as well as Grip & Grip for holding the fabric and a rubbing surface underneath, but costs just $3.
Announcements and RemindersWe’ve established a challenge for 2007. We’re calling it “A Finishing Odyssey.” Several of us brought a UFO to show in June, and now the plan is to show “substantial progress” on the UFO by the December party. There’s still time to get in on the Odyssey; just bring a lonely old UFO to show and tell!
We agreed on programs for the balance of the year. In October we will work on making stamps, and in November we’ll do foiling. Bring calendars in July so we can pick a December party date.
July Meeting (Thursday July 26, 2007) at the Menasha Public LibraryCouching by hand or machine. Here’s what to bring:
- We will supply a pattern for a coffee cuff, a small project you can finish in the evening, or you can bring something of your own. Katy will have kits for $1, or bring:
- Two fabric scraps, minimum 4” × 11”
- One piece Timtex and two pieces fusible, 4” × 11” (or a piece of double-sided stiff fusible like Fast-2-Fuse)
- Stuff to couch down (trims, yarns, ribbons, perle cotton, floss, etc.)
2. Helpful notions (bring if you have; we’ll share)
- Chenille needle & Lo-Ran needle threader
- Roxanne’s Glue-Baste-It
3. To finish the project, regardless of whether you couch by hand or machine, you need your sewing machine and decorative thread to zig-zag the edges
4. For couching by machine:
- Sewing machine
- Any of the following feet you have: open toe foot, free motion foot, braid foot, 3, 5, or 7-hole cord foot, braid guide
- Monofilament thread and/or decorative thread to match the trims
- Plain cotton thread or bobbin thread
5. OR, for couching by hand:
- Hand needle
- Thread (neutral or to match stuff you’ll be couching)
- Remember you can couch wonderful things by hand, like old necklaces
Upcoming Events
July 26, 2007: July meeting, 6:30. Couching. Katy and Karen will lead.
August 30, 2007: August meeting, 6:30. Chenilling. Gill will lead.
September 27, 2007: September meeting, 6:30. Sewing room organization roundtable
October 25, 2007: October meeting, 6:30. Making stamps
November 29, 2007: November meeting, 6:30. Foiling
Conversations with Cloth meets the last Thursday of each month at 6:30 at the Menasha Public Library.
Karen finished her fabric post card this month. She turned hers into her CinC nametag, a project 2 years in the making!
Katy's elegant machine-couched coffee cuffs (above).
Karen's hand-couched coffee cuffs (above).
Theresa's tropical coffee cuff (above), before the final trim. Machine Couched.
Michele's coffee cuff, machine couched. (Before the final seam.)
